SAINT LEO, Fla. – For the second time since 2022, the seventh-ranked Saint Leo baseball team punched its ticket to post season play after locking up the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Division II South Regional Championship and will host NCAA South Region 2. The Lions finished the regular season with a 38-11 overall record with a 21-9 Sunshine State Conference (SSC) record, which is tied for the best record Saint Leo has registered while under seventh-year head coach Rick O'Dette. The first round will begin on Thursday, May 16 as the Lions face No. 7 seed West Florida at 2 p.m.

TOURNAMENT HOMEPAGE

The NCAA South Region 2 bracket will also feature No. 3 seed Embry-Riddle and No. 6 seed Delta State.

In 2022, Saint Leo advanced to the NCAA South Regional for the first time since 2001. The Lions earned the No. 2 seed and hosting rights in 2022 as well. During the first round, Saint Leo lost 17-7 to No. 7 seed Lee before bouncing back with a 6-3 win over No. 6 seed Delta State. The Lions' season ended with a 9-5 loss to No. 7 Lee in the fifth game of the NCAA South Regional.

At the dish, Saint Leo is hitting at a .291 clip which is tied for third in the conference with a .421 slugging percentage and a .402 on-base percentage. The Lions pace the SSC in stole bases with 167 which also ranks sixth in the nation. Defensively, Saint Leo fields at a .971 rate which is tied for third in the conference.

The Lions feature a premiere pitcher in senior Luke Lashutka, who holds a 2.68 ERA and leads the league in strikeouts with 98. He boasts an opposing batting average of .235 and has been named the SSC Pitcher of the Week four times this year. In the bullpen, graduate student Nick Jennings leads the SSC in saves with eight and has a 4-1 record with 39 strikeouts. Jennings holds a 2.228 ERA and an opposing batting average of .160. The Saint Leo lineup also features a pair of sluggers that hit well above .300 in junior Callen Moss and senior Mikey Scott. Moss is sixth in the conference with a .363 batting average in addition to his eight home runs, 43 RBI, .631 slugging percentage, and a .474 on-base percentage. Scott hits at a .329 clip that is top-20 in the league with eight home runs as well in addition to 39 RBI, a .593 slugging percentage, and a .368 on-base percentage.
 
South Region 1 at Tampa, Florida

1. Tampa (41-7)
2. Lee (37-16)
3. AUM (31-22)
4. Savannah State (29-15)

South Region 2 at Saint Leo, Florida

1. Saint Leo (38-11)
2. Embry-Riddle (31-19)
3. Delta State (32-22)
4. West Florida (32-21)

 
The south region is broken into two regional sites (Saint Leo & Tampa) and the four teams at each location will play a double-elimination style bracket to determine who will play in a best of three super regional at the highest remaining seed, May 16-19.

Stay tuned to SaintLeoLions.com for links to follow along with the regional action later this week. Live stat and watch links will be added to the schedule as they become available. Click here for the regional tournament home page.